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Author Topic: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion  (Read 97955 times)

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michaeljb

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #25 on: April 26, 2014, 12:09:37 pm »
+7

michaeljb defeats faust


Game 1



Code: [Select]
Transmute, Candlestick Maker, Fool's Gold, Scrying Pool, Masquerade, Wishing Well, Gardens, Young Witch, Ill-Gotten Gains, Pillage, Royal Seal
With no villages, I foolishly ignore Scrying Pool and go for Masquerade + Fool's Gold, with some half-hearted IGG action. faust goes full Scrying Pool, amassing Candlesticks Maker to save up for a 5 Province + 1 Duchy mega turn when I have only 3 Provinces.
michaeljb 21 - 28 faust


Game 2


Code: [Select]
Hamlet, Ambassador, Doctor, Fishing Village, Smugglers, Village, Woodcutter, Envoy, Spy, Cultist
I get the 5/2 to get a slight jump on the Cultists, but faust has two Ambassadors after turn 3. I stick with just one, and we mostly just by Fishing Villages and more Cultists. On turn 13 I bought a Doctor for 6, trashing one Ruins and a Copper, and on turn 14 I purchase the first Treasure of the game with a Gold. This is naturally crucial in getting me the only Province of the game, and a couple turns later I use Doctor for some nice draw (trashing Cultist, drawing past 2 Ruins that Doctor revealed), helping me end the game on piles. It was a weird sort of slog/engine where we both focused on engine components, but because of the Ruins (and ignoring Silver because of shiny Fishing Village) income was pretty low. faust did eventually get a Gold, but it was too late by then as it turned out to be his final turn.
faust 0 - 9 michaeljb


Game 3



Code: [Select]
Beggar, Stonemason, University, Masquerade, Throne Room, Band of Misfits, Cultist, Haggler, Market, Merchant Guild
Cultists and Masquerade make repeat appearances with this game. We both go for a University+Cultist engine with Masquerade for trashing. faust's first non-Cultist $5 gain is  Merchant Guild, which I find questionable given how low piles are by that point; I opt for Markets. Once again we don't buy much Treasure, so after turn 13 my 1 Gold and 1 Silver give me a decent advantage. After Cultists and Ruins run out, I was nervously watching the Market, Throne Room and Stonemason piles; faust had an Estate lead for most of the game, but my Markets delivered and I once again gained the only Province of the game, with the Throne Room pile down to only 2. faust responded with a few Estates to pick up some Coin tokens with Merchant Guild, but he would never see those tokens again as I piled out Throne Rooms the next turn. University and Stonemason sure made for a nerve-racking game.

faust 5 - 7 michaeljb


Game 4



Code: [Select]
Pearl Diver, Squire, Chancellor, Sage, Coppersmith, Cutpurse, Band of Misfits, City, Junk Dealer, Rabble
We both open 3/4 and go for Sage/Cutpurse, looking to a City/Rabble/Squire engine. Except, faust actually opened 4/3, but thought he had 3 on turn 1, so he actually opened Sage/Silver; my first turn after he played his Silver instead of his would-be Cutpurse, I hit $5 and got the first Junk Dealer, so it was a pretty significant misclick. After turn 6 I had two Sages, a Rabble, and had trashed one Copper to faust's single Sage and three Squires (we each had a Cutpurse). My early good fortune was pretty huge, and I rode that out to another 3-pile victory to take the match.
michaeljb 24 - 1 faust

michaeljb wins the match 3 to 1


So now I advance to the round of 8 and what am I even doing here. I'll either get to play the best player in the world or the player who I swept in the last Swiss round and will be out for revenge.


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soulnet

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #26 on: April 26, 2014, 12:32:28 pm »
+4

Monsieur X defeats soulnet (4-3)

Video of the whole series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50R3vNiSVJM. (WARNING: The youtube comments contain spoilers of the results)

Will post logs and some analysis later after some rest lunch.

Here are the logs and kingdoms. There was a little bit of everything, mostly engine, but also some BMs with support and some more sloggish games.

Game 1


Code: [Select]
Native Village, Oracle, Smugglers, Cutpurse, Farming Village, Plaza, Cultist, Festival, Mandarin, GoonsAs you can hear on the video, I do not like being 2nd player in this Cultist board one bit. And even though I start luckier, it eventually evens out and his first player position lets him win the Ruins split by a big margin, from where I can never come back. We mostly mirror into engine-y and the sloggy decks, but with so much ruins and bad draw, it is impossible to build a real Goons engine. Mine is a lot worse due to the extra Ruins (that I also got one shuffle earlier), so while he gets some double Goons turns, I can only gamble into that happening while he stalls, which of course does not happen.
1-0


Game 2


Code: [Select]
Tunnel, Village, Wishing Well, Familiar, Baron, Bureaucrat, Remake, Cartographer, Venture, PeddlerHe goes for a Remake+BM hybrid (it seems). I go for a cantrip+WW engine to gain lots of Peddlers with +Buy from Baron. My plan is better, he turns to Baron and Familiar, but the lack of Treasure hurts, and by the time he can Curse me I could even trash Curses faster than they come, and I am already in double Province territory with all the Peddlers for money plus two easy to activate Barons, so the game is pretty much over.
1-1

Game 3


Code: [Select]
Vineyard, Hermit, Ironmonger, Island, Noble Brigand, Smithy, Treasure Map, Catacombs, Council Room, MinionVineyards has potential here, but there is no way to gain lots of actiosn really fast, so Provinces are important as well. We both go for Minions, but I focus a bit more on Ironmonger and he gets Hermit for the trashing, which I think is a mistake (although the extra gain almost gets him the game). I get Council Room, which is the only +Buy, and the penalty is compensated by Minion-attacking. CR proves to be key, although I get some bad draws and it ends up really close. It all finishes with a race to the Potion for the last 6 VP Vineyard, which I get. First player advantage again, maybe. I think my strategy was generally better, although maybe I did not focus enough and should have paid more attention to my number of Actions and how to play the bad hands.
1-2


Game 4


Code: [Select]
Lighthouse, Pawn, Masterpiece, Ironmonger, Ironworks, Remake, Butcher, Harvest, Inn, HaremWithout draw, this is clearly Butcher+something. We both go Remake, but then I try to get fancy with lots of Ironmongers, Harem and a ridiculous Inn buy, while he cruises to victory with a simple Remake+Butcher+Ironmongers (with the help of a single IW). I considered myself behind and started gambling way too soon, and also, never got a second Butcher! That has to be wrong.
2-2

Game 5


Code: [Select]
Cellar, Haven, Nomad Camp, Remake, Count, Ghost Ship, Mint, Rebuild, Altar, FairgroundsWeak board, definitely rebuild. We both open Nomad Camp and he gets to $5 on T2 but I do not. Being 2P and getting that $4, I am reluctant to mirror so I go Remake to see if I can speed up. I luck into a 5 Coppers T3 and I decide to go fancy with Mint, to later Remake it into an Altar. I think that was fine up to here, but the slim deck is not so great if you don't get more Cellars, and I have no money. I think gaining a Count instead of a Rebuild with my first Altar play and Remaking one Estate could have been a way better plan, because it would give me Count for money once the Duchies are out. In the end, his ability to buy Estates wins him the game.
3-2


Game 6


Code: [Select]
Native Village, Pearl Diver, Shanty Town, Trade Route, Count, Rabble, Treasury, Vault, Grand Market, PeddlerDefinitely Vault into Grand Market and then Peddlers. We mirror. I srew my first Vault play forgetting to discard my Coppers (who cares, right? It is $1 anyway) so I get a Peddler instead of GM. However, I get way better draws later and with my first player advantage, I get ahead in GM and Peddler split, which is mostly game over. I think his Trade Route buy was wrong (too slow), but maybe was a reasonable gamble at that point.
3-3

Game 7


Code: [Select]
Loan, Swindler, Philosopher's Stone, Bridge, Caravan, Marauder, Spy, Thief, Explorer, MinionNo village, no good draw and Swindler. This is definitely slog. We both go for PS, but he goes from the start while I open double Swindler to avoid getting stuck at 2P. However, he gets to 3P every time and I get to 2P twice, even after getting Swindlers and Silvers from Explorer. Maybe my Caravans were a mistake as well, as the extra card is rarely worth it in a slog and it can screw up the SPs. I definitely screw the endgame by overbuilding, but he also gets pretty nice draws getting to $8 with surprising consistency, which made it impossible to come back. Nicely done Mr X.
4-3
« Last Edit: April 26, 2014, 01:35:40 pm by soulnet »
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Kirian

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #27 on: April 26, 2014, 02:09:42 pm »
0

For the record, the playoffs are a lot less formal in terms of time frame than the Swiss rounds; Monsieur X and JOG, feel free to play your quarterfinal match when convenient.

Meanwhile, soulnet, great job forcing the top seed to a tiebreaker game. :)
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MarkowKette

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #28 on: April 26, 2014, 03:13:05 pm »
+1


Game 5


Code: [Select]
Cellar, Haven, Nomad Camp, Remake, Count, Ghost Ship, Mint, Rebuild, Altar, FairgroundsWeak board, definitely rebuild. We both open Nomad Camp and he gets to $5 on T2 but I do not. Being 2P and getting that $4, I am reluctant to mirror so I go Remake to see if I can speed up. I luck into a 5 Coppers T3 and I decide to go fancy with Mint, to later Remake it into an Altar. I think that was fine up to here, but the slim deck is not so great if you don't get more Cellars, and I have no money. I think gaining a Count instead of a Rebuild with my first Altar play and Remaking one Estate could have been a way better plan, because it would give me Count for money once the Duchies are out. In the end, his ability to buy Estates wins him the game.


I have to say i really like how you played this. I think trashing any estates into silvers would have been extremely bad for you, i mean you can only use that economy to buy more estates anyway. Not getting to 5 on turn 2 put you quite a bit behind, so i agree the mirror isn't the best choice. You had a very trim deck that should be able to play more rebuilds per turn on average than his deck, so i think that's the thing you should rely on to win the game.
You don't have any economy , but that doesn't really matter all that much if you manage to deny him his 4th province.
Just play turbo rebuild and rebuild province into province once. Then he needs 3 extra estates to catch up, and that is not the easiest thing to do before the game ends. With this consideration i think you misplayed turn 10 and 11.
Turn 10 you should have rebuilt Province into Province instead of skipping the turn entirely. Turn 11 cellar less and Altar the copper into a 3rd rebuild. It would have probably not been enough, but i think that would have been your best shot at winning that game.
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soulnet

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #29 on: April 26, 2014, 03:43:28 pm »
0

I have to say i really like how you played this. I think trashing any estates into silvers would have been extremely bad for you, i mean you can only use that economy to buy more estates anyway. Not getting to 5 on turn 2 put you quite a bit behind, so i agree the mirror isn't the best choice. You had a very trim deck that should be able to play more rebuilds per turn on average than his deck, so i think that's the thing you should rely on to win the game.
You don't have any economy , but that doesn't really matter all that much if you manage to deny him his 4th province.
Just play turbo rebuild and rebuild province into province once. Then he needs 3 extra estates to catch up, and that is not the easiest thing to do before the game ends. With this consideration i think you misplayed turn 10 and 11.
Turn 10 you should have rebuilt Province into Province instead of skipping the turn entirely. Turn 11 cellar less and Altar the copper into a 3rd rebuild. It would have probably not been enough, but i think that would have been your best shot at winning that game.

I would have needed 3 out of 4 Provinces to win if I trash Prov for Prov. Maybe I had better odds of that happening than to win with 3 out of 5 because of the Estate thing. I guess you are right, I did not really thought enough about how to win with 3 out of 5 Provs, and of course 4 out of 5 is way more difficult than 3 out of 4.
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DG

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #31 on: April 27, 2014, 04:55:58 pm »
+11

DG vs Stef

DG 3 : Stef 1

I'll comment after the stream has been linked up. I was lazy and didn't get logs.
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Kirian

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #33 on: April 27, 2014, 07:29:06 pm »
+1

Two big upsets.  Two grueling 4-3 matches.  Round of 16 is over, on to the quarterfinals!
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MarkowKette

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #34 on: April 27, 2014, 10:03:06 pm »
+4

jsh vs. MarkowKette
jsh wins 4-3

Logs here, I'll post the videos later.  Was a grueling match.

http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140427/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398632788251.txt


http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140427/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398633512029.txt


http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140427/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398634618319.txt


http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140427/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398636329035.txt


http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140427/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398637581781.txt


http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140427/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398638740805.txt


http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140427/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398639765186.txt

really interesting games:

game 1: This one played out a bit awkward and was still kind of a mirror. I lost the Fishing village split with a pretty bad first shuffle. 2 piles are out very early i try to turbo remodel (remodel->Gold->Province  and Province->Province) but his deck is better and he can get 2 colonies pretty fast. On my last turn i try to get incredibly lucky but as expected that doesnt happen and he wins.

game 2: My shuffles are decent and i feel pretty good here , but then he pulls of an amazing turn 5  getting 5 Peddlers already and i can't catch up. Also the 5/2 opening helped. Easy win, the game took only 9 turns!

game 3: Colony board. I go for a Butcher Ironmonger Big Money, with a Forge on first 7, while he tries to build an engine with Vault as the only draw. Most of the game hist Vault was basically a  slightly worse moat though as he has not many cards he want to discart with it and some times the play did benefit me. I get a second Butcher later and have far more Treasures than him. On my second to last turn i play a bit too risky i'm far ahead but on a very lucky draw he might get Butcher Platinum and enough coins for another colony so he could have potentially won there. But that is really unlikely and doesnt happen so i win on the next turn. Maybe i focussed too much on ironmonger, but i'm pretty sure the Vault plan just isnt good enough here on average.

game 4: Another engine board  the question here is  Hunting Party Stack or Menagerie engine.
Again i have really bad draws at start and he was quite a bit ahead on the menagerie engine plan, so i decide i can't mirror and go straight for the Hunting Party stack with Counterfeit and Bank. As soon as i commit to this stragey i get very good draws and i catch up and then get ahead. I make a horrible missclick on turn 12 where i accidently trash my bank to the counterfeit (cant even use the extra money due to a lack of + buy) so i have to rebuy it the next turn. But i continue to get good draws while he stalls and i can get a points lead that he can't catch up on. Maybe the HP stack plan was better but i really feel he needed more than only 3 menageries in his deck and i think he shouldn't have kept buying bakers when i started greening (on turn 12 he even used 4 coin tokens to get another baker that he didn't even play 3 times in the game). 

game 5: Bridge engine with Lab , City and Throneroom. It's basically a mirror and i get a bit behind when he hits double 5 on after the first shuffle. We buy the same cards exept he got a plaza which i think is a big mistake as throne rooms are a lot more important and coin tokens don't play much of a role, you usually rather keep the copper to cellar through your deck.
His 3rd Bridge was also a bit early in my eyes, as a throne room can do the same there and adds more flexibility. Anyway bridge engines just have a huge snowball factor so his early lead grows to a big lead and i have to be very carefull with 3 pilings. Then he gets incredibly unlucky and has a dud hand, which puts me back into the game. And his next turn he also couldnt draw through his whole deck  and i can end it on a win on my next turn. That must have felt extremely frustrating for him. I'm sry.

Game 6: Big Money with Young Witch Doctor(Bane) Apprentice and Ghost ship. I open Silver/YW to his YW/ Dr and he can block 2 of my first 3 YW plays. But his terminals also collide a lot at start and he can't really trash that effectively. I get to 5 more often earlier and so i feel pretty good but i also eat a lot of curses. I think in the end we split the Curses 6/4 or maybe i even got 7? not sure. He gets a lead on Provinces  having 3 already when i have none but i still decide to spent my $12 hand on an overpay doctor as i knew i would at least hit 2 curses with it. In fact i hit 3 so that was pretty good even though i didnt hit any other of my bad cards. Now my deck is a lot better than his and i start catching up. It gets really close in the end and i have 8 on a hand where Province wins for me. But then he Ghost ships me and i'm frustrated and unconcentrated and that loses me the game. If i put back Silver and Gold like i clearly would have dont if i payed any attention at all then the next turn Province would have won me the game by 1 point and the series 4-2. But i don't think at all there and just click on cards randomly to put back (i really have no idea how that could happen). Well i don't deserve to win the game if i misplay like this.

game 7: He has the higher seed so he goes first. He playes Vault BM with one Scavenger that he opened with and i play Ghost Ship BM also with 1 Scavenger. My 2 opening buys both miss the shuffle and i'm already back in frustration mode(didn't matter this game). I really shouldn't let that get into my mind that easy though. He gets light houses as defence pretty late and with my 3 Ghost ships i can attack him between 1/2 and 1/3 of the turns which really hurts him. I think both strategies are very even here but my start puts me quite a bit behind. He gets a few Farmlands later and i can only win if i get the 5th Province. Now that i think about it my late 3rd Ghost ship should have been a Vault.  As expected my deck stalls more than his deck and he wins. Maybe Vault is just better here after all especially if it gets light houses over silver early.

Well played Jsh.  Luck wasn't really on my side all in all but you certainly deserve this win.
And if i don't misplay i would have won so bad luck wasn't what lost me the series.

I really enjoyed the tense games and wish you the best of luck on the way to the gradfinals (hopefully)

« Last Edit: April 28, 2014, 12:55:28 pm by MarkowKette »
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Burning Skull

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #35 on: April 28, 2014, 02:16:26 am »
+1

I make a horrible missclick on turn 12 where i accidently trash my bank to the counterfeit

That trashed bank of yours was something!
The most fun thing about it was that Jsh hadn't noticed you had trashed it. And when you wrote to him something like "oh no! That game is lost for me" or so, he was commenting it like "hmm, why, why is he talking like that? Is it the dud hand or what?" :D

Anyway, you played that game a lot better, and it was no chance for him with all that bakers.

Joseph2302

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #36 on: April 28, 2014, 05:49:57 am »
+1

I make a horrible missclick on turn 12 where i accidently trash my bank to the counterfeit

That trashed bank of yours was something!
The most fun thing about it was that Jsh hadn't noticed you had trashed it. And when you wrote to him something like "oh no! That game is lost for me" or so, he was commenting it like "hmm, why, why is he talking like that? Is it the dud hand or what?" :D


The chat for that game was hilarious, because Jsh spent the rest of the game wondering why Markow never drew 2 banks together, and most things Jsh said were wrong, as based on Markow having 2 banks. Fun game, not sure many people thought baker would be good enough, though.
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MarkowKette

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #37 on: April 28, 2014, 10:11:35 am »
+1

I make a horrible missclick on turn 12 where i accidently trash my bank to the counterfeit

That trashed bank of yours was something!
The most fun thing about it was that Jsh hadn't noticed you had trashed it. And when you wrote to him something like "oh no! That game is lost for me" or so, he was commenting it like "hmm, why, why is he talking like that? Is it the dud hand or what?" :D

Anyway, you played that game a lot better, and it was no chance for him with all that bakers.

Yeah that is really a bad habit of mine, overreacting to such mistakes even if i'm still not in a horrible position there.
It's just such a devastating misclick, compareble to trashing a Province with chapel by accident so that i wasn't able to stay calm and patient there like i should.
Frustration just makes you do more mistakes and if you do mistakes you will never be able to come back from a bad start against a good player like Jsh.
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jsh357

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #38 on: April 30, 2014, 12:35:54 am »
+2

Game 1:
Log: http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140429/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398818590328.txt
Video

Game 2:
Log: http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140429/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398820118850.txt
Video

Game 3:
Log: http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140429/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398821190039.txt
Video

Game 4:
Log: http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140429/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1398823358547.txt
Video

Overall comments: This was one of the strangest sets of games I can recall playing in ages.  First is a possession game where Tribute is the most important card, third was an actual honest-to-Ozle Venture board, and the last was a Golem/Minion/Monument/Mercenary weirdness kingdom.  I had no idea what I was doing half the time, and am surprised I won even a single game of these.
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ragingduckd

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #39 on: April 30, 2014, 06:18:28 am »
+4

AI vs jsh357, this time with game reports.

The first three games are an object lesson in preserving your lead.  Game 1 (my lead) and Game 3 (jsh's lead) both ought to have been blowouts, but neither of us nailed down the win effectively and both games were very nearly coin flips by the end.

In Game 2, I preserved my early lead effectively, as it was the sort of board where it would have been hard to go wrong.  There was really only one decision that was particularly interesting, which I discuss below.

Game 4 was mostly just ugly.  We both wasted time stumbling about on a board where time was of the essence.

Game 1: AI wins


Code: [Select]
Transmute, Market Square, Swindler, Remake, Smithy, Count, Ghost Ship, Treasury, Tribute, Possession
Man, I really, really deserved to lose this game.  First I planned to play Count-MS (you know, like Chapel-MS?).  Then I realized the obvious problem with that and I got a Remake so that I could actually activate a MS instead of trashing it.  I never did that either because jsh bought a Tribute that turn and suddenly I realized that you could build a multi-Possession engine using Tribute as a village.

This wasn't fundamentally a bad plan for me to mirror, but it was a poor use of my early lead.  I had caught an absolutely perfect T7: Necro, Smithy, Count putting MS on top and trashing 4 cards including Overgrown Estate, and thus activating the MS for a Gold.  With this lead, I really don't want to load up on high-variance cards like Tribute and Possession if I can possibly avoid it.

Quote
8:36 Mic_qsenoch:  should have pivoted from engines once he got huge trash lead, adding more actions just made his tributes good villages

I agree entirely... now.  Had I just gone BM after T7 (with maybe one Remake and/or some Ghost Ships), jsh would never have been able to get a Possession engine going fast enough to catch me.  Further, my deck wouldn't have had enough actions for Tribute to be a reliable village for him.  By mirroring the engine, I turned an easy, high-probability win into a risky, confusing game that gave jsh lots of chances to get lucky and gave me lots of opportunities to make mistakes.


Game 2: AI wins


Code: [Select]
Forager, Shanty Town, Trade Route, Ironmonger, Thief, Cache, Embassy, Highway, Outpost, Hunting Grounds
The basic strategy here is fairly straightforward.  Trash down with Forager while adding Ironmongers and eventually Highways, draw, and Outpost.  The only question is the what order to do these things in.  I drew early $4 hands and loaded on IMs, not an extraordinary start, but very reliable.  Meanwhile, jsh drew an early $6 and gambled on an Hunting Party.  When it failed to connect with either his Forager or villages for the next two shuffles, I took a huge lead.

Quote
8:57 Mic_qsenoch:  wait, when did AI get embassy
8:57 Florrat:  last turn
8:57 Mic_qsenoch:  why
8:57 Shecantsayno:  I don't understand it either

In a closer game or on a less powerful board, I'd get the third Highway instead.  But I had a big lead and the board is super-powerful.  I have a sure-fire win as long as I don't run into some unlikely catastrophe like 2 successive dead or nearly-dead hands.  Minimizing the chance of that unlikely catastrophe is more important than making my deck a little more powerful on average.

A second Hunting Grounds would be almost as good for this purpose, but I actually want Embassy's discarding.  It gives me a chance to control what my Ironmongers hit and it gives me the option of preparing my 3-card Outpost hands.  If that Embassy ends up saving just one Outpost turn that would otherwise be dead, it will have done me far more good than an extra Highway.


Game 3: jsh357 wins


Code: [Select]
Chapel, Herbalist, Fortune Teller, Scheme, Marauder, Remake, Young Witch, Counting House, Market, Rabble, Venture
Missing your T3/T4 Chapel is very nearly fatal on a board like this.  Not only do you go into the second shuffle with 4 extra Coppers/Estates, but you're going to end up losing the Ruins split too.

I got back in the game because jsh favored Market over Venture.  For him, either card was reasonable, since he was slim enough for Market to be strong.  But for me, playing from behind with a bloated deck, Venture was absolutely essential, both because the extra card from Market wouldn't do me much good and because I needed to gamble to catch up.  Venture, like Rebuild, provides extra variance because of the reshuffling it induces.

That means that jsh should skip Market and nail down the win by denying me Ventures.  To be sure, I had to get lucky in the latter half of the game to to come as close as I did, but if jsh had skipped his 3 Markets and limited me to 3-4 Ventures instead of 6, I would never even have had an opportunity to get lucky.


Game 4: AI wins


Code: [Select]
Urchin, Warehouse, Caravan, Envoy, Monument, Navigator, Salvager, Golem, Minion, Rabble
Reprising our Game 1 routine, jsh and I both spent a lot of time doing inexplicable things.  I opened with a Salvager, then trashed it right when I needed it most and ended up having to buy it back again; jsh got a faster start on slimming with Merc but then re-junked his deck by buying Silvers; and we both wasted time on half-hearted Golem-Monument strategies.

Quote
10:00 Mic_qsenoch:  i am less convinced by the golems the more i watch this game
10:01 Shecantsayno:  just minions and platina?
10:01 Hvboedefeld:  yeah just thin out add a platinum and play you minions would be faster

Looking back, I agree wholeheartedly.  With Merc to slim, Minions for cash, and Salvager to trash Colony into Colony, there's just no time for Golem, and certainly not for Monument.  It took me a while to figure this out, but by the time the Minions are gone, it was clear that my 2 Golems weren't doing much of anything for me.  I would have been far better off with no Golems and a 7-3 Minion split.

Quote
9:42 Kipkoan:  only +buy is salvager... AI trashed his salvager...

AI realized this right after he did it.  For extra bonus stupidity, a bit later AI also (re-)learned that you can't trash just one card with Mercenary.


One last quote, out of order because it's more appropriate here:
Quote
9:04 Markowkette:  jsh 's only chance is to attack piles and maybe sneak in a lucky win
9:04 Markowkette:  but not gonna happen against a good player like AI
9:05 Mic_qsenoch:  you would be surprised the kinds of stuff good players mess up
9:05 Mic_qsenoch:  basically all the things "not good" players mess up

Everybody should listen to Mic Q all the time.  Mic Q, you should write more.


Many thanks to jsh for a strange and enjoyable match!  :)
« Last Edit: April 30, 2014, 07:12:23 am by ragingduckd »
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DG

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #40 on: April 30, 2014, 09:10:01 am »
+3

Seeing as the next round round is moving on, I'll give some comments for my match with Stef.

Game #1 - http://archive-dominionlogs.goko.com/20140427/log.50b20dc3e4b0c9ce0cf27eb3.1398625577196.txt
I put together a mediocre wharf deck. Stef does something a bit bigger and better. Read the log.

Game #2 - http://archive-dominionlogs.goko.com/20140427/log.50b20dc3e4b0c9ce0cf27eb3.1398628037785.txt
This is a tight vineyards end game. I'd planned to start with spice merchant so when Stef opened with a potion I stopped, rethought, and it actually helped clarify what I was doing. To my mind the apothecaries would draw through the copper but would still need support to draw the other cards and carried more risk, particularly in the end game. As it turned out, Stef could win on his last turn if he could draw all three potions but his deck stalled.

Game #3 - http://archive-dominionlogs.goko.com/20140427/log.50b20dc3e4b0c9ce0cf27eb3.1398629357832.txt
This didn't seem complex at all from my viewpoint as the complexity was in the endgame and we cut that short. We both tried to make a village-smithy-goons deck with counterfeit for trashing but both deck stutter, his more than mine. At one point I draw a hand with 3 smithy's, goons, and procession and Stef leaves the third pile on 3 cards which would be normally be within reach of my deck. I don't know whether he saw Goko show both my discards or not (it should only show the 'top' one). I didn't know at the time that my deck was a lot more compact than his, he couldn't use the next turn to finish it, so I coasted home the following turn.

Game #4 - http://archive-dominionlogs.goko.com/20140427/log.50b20dc3e4b0c9ce0cf27eb3.1398631171957.txt
There are probably a lot of 'might have been' involved with this game. The cultists dominate but there's this potential strong engine lurking with black market cards (watchtower, hermit) and ironmonger, maybe bridge, but the ironmongers look overworked in getting coin, draws, and actions all when you need them. Looking at it again, there's more in the black market than I remember. Isn't that always the way? Anyway I decide to pursue simple cultists/treasure with an option to expand/develop the cultists later to sustain the end game. Stef wins the ruins split 7/3 and as well taking his engine cards like develop and black market but all the problems I saw at the start seemed to hit him with unproductive turns. I push the piles low enough for my small lead to pose a threat but with one ironmonger left Stef shuffles his deck, gets unleashes the madman, forges up a province and ... he miscalculates points somehow. He closed out for a losing score when drawing more cards would give the chance to score and win. The develop that I knew was the last card in my draw deck, that might have been able to empty piles for me the turn before, finally showed and gave me the win.

It's not a great way to win a series to be honest. It's also a shame that Stef's dominion magic won't be seen in the later rounds but that's what you get in a knockout tournament.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2014, 09:11:55 am by DG »
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JOG

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #41 on: May 02, 2014, 02:38:56 pm »
+3

jog defeats monsieur x 4-3

It was a great match and it could have gone either way.  I'm planning on writing about each game later today.
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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #42 on: May 02, 2014, 04:32:46 pm »
+4

1. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?
Hunting Party, Militia, Peddler, Philosopher's Stone, Potion, Province, Remodel, Scheme, Treasury, Vault, Wharf, Sage

I have 5-2, which seems great.  Open wharf with the plan to eventually get a second, so you can play one every turn.  Pick up a lot of peddlers and hunting parties along the way, and then eventually be able to draw deck, and buy a province and hunting party every turn. The problem was that his remodel peddler strategy is so fast.  He is able to build a big lead, and then start to remodel provinces into provinces to end it quickly. 5 provinces and game over in 13 turns.  I was outplayed here.

2. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399048083035.txt
Baron, Farming Village, Fortress, Gold, Island, Oracle, Pirate Ship, Province, Quarry, Witch, Worker's Village, Cellar

He has 5-2 and opens cellar, witch. The 5-2 was strong, his shuffles after that were great, and he played it just about perfectly.  I lose the curse split 7-3, he's able to add to his points lead with islands, and then end it on piles.

3. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399050227736.txt
 Council Room, Farming Village, Herbalist, Journeyman, Junk Dealer, Province, Scavenger, Silk Road, Tactician, Torturer, Hamlet

We both get 2 junk dealers, trash down, and then start to build torturer engines.  He picks up a tactician with the plan to play big torturer chains early.  I try to get the chains going without tactician.  I get a slight edge in trashing, which means my chains can be played more consistently.  Close game even though the final score doesn't show it.

4. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399051505210.txt
Bazaar,  Fishing Village, Forager,  Horn of Plenty, Laboratory, Margrave, Potion, Province, Vagrant, Vault, Worker's Village, Vineyard

We both plan horn of plenty mega turns.  I open fishing village silver, he opens fishing village forager. My opening means I can get a margrave after first shuffle, while he can't get 1  until turn 7 (partly due to bad draws).  After that I focused more on consistent draw than getting lots of horns.  I build a small lead and then am able to end it on piles with the help of the horns I did pick up.

5. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399052484614.txt
Apothecary, Baron, Bishop, Forager, Fortune Teller,  Goons, Potion, Province, Silk Road, Taxman, Witch, Herbalist

Pretty interesting game.  He goes money, witches into provinces and eventually silk roads.  I go apothecaries, foragers into goons and then some green.  No villages, so it's only possible to play 1 goons, but foragers can give extra buy.  He builds a big lead, but I am able to eventually start building up points with goons, curse trashing and some green.

6.  http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399053726750.txt
 Bazaar, City, Doctor,  Fortune Teller, Merchant Guild, Native Village, Pillage, Province, Rabble, Remake,  Courtyard

Remake silver opening vs remake doctor opening.  His remake silver opening is probably the best choice.  It's less risky.  My doctor misses the shuffle and I am not able to trash as effectively as I had planned.  His deck is better in every way.  More merchant guilds, more villages and more money too.  He wins this one easily.

7. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399055345503.txt
Cache, Catacombs, Feodum, Lookout, Mint, Nomad Camp, Oasis, Potion, Province,  Treasure Map, University, Pawn

We both have the same plan here.  Build a university catacombs engine, trash with lookout and mint and then eventually add treasure maps and pawns/nomad camps for plus buy.  The problem with this strategy is that it's hard to get enough actions to play treasure maps, and then draw the golds.  We both get 2 treasure maps in our deck relatively early but never play them because of lack of actions and because the gold would clog up our decks.  I mess up my mint turn when I trashed my potion along with the other treasure.  I realize I need more universities after doing this so rebuy a potion the next turn.  My mint buy was, however, a little later.  So, my trashing was better.  My draws ended up being more consistent, so I was able to end it on piles. 
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Monsieur X

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #43 on: May 02, 2014, 06:28:07 pm »
+4

1. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?
Hunting Party, Militia, Peddler, Philosopher's Stone, Potion, Province, Remodel, Scheme, Treasury, Vault, Wharf, Sage

I have 5-2, which seems great.  Open wharf with the plan to eventually get a second, so you can play one every turn.  Pick up a lot of peddlers and hunting parties along the way, and then eventually be able to draw deck, and buy a province and hunting party every turn. The problem was that his remodel peddler strategy is so fast.  He is able to build a big lead, and then start to remodel provinces into provinces to end it quickly. 5 provinces and game over in 13 turns.  I was outplayed here.

2. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399048083035.txt
Baron, Farming Village, Fortress, Gold, Island, Oracle, Pirate Ship, Province, Quarry, Witch, Worker's Village, Cellar

He has 5-2 and opens cellar, witch. The 5-2 was strong, his shuffles after that were great, and he played it just about perfectly.  I lose the curse split 7-3, he's able to add to his points lead with islands, and then end it on piles.

3. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399050227736.txt
 Council Room, Farming Village, Herbalist, Journeyman, Junk Dealer, Province, Scavenger, Silk Road, Tactician, Torturer, Hamlet

We both get 2 junk dealers, trash down, and then start to build torturer engines.  He picks up a tactician with the plan to play big torturer chains early.  I try to get the chains going without tactician.  I get a slight edge in trashing, which means my chains can be played more consistently.  Close game even though the final score doesn't show it.

4. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399051505210.txt
Bazaar,  Fishing Village, Forager,  Horn of Plenty, Laboratory, Margrave, Potion, Province, Vagrant, Vault, Worker's Village, Vineyard

We both plan horn of plenty mega turns.  I open fishing village silver, he opens fishing village forager. My opening means I can get a margrave after first shuffle, while he can't get 1  until turn 7 (partly due to bad draws).  After that I focused more on consistent draw than getting lots of horns.  I build a small lead and then am able to end it on piles with the help of the horns I did pick up.

5. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399052484614.txt
Apothecary, Baron, Bishop, Forager, Fortune Teller,  Goons, Potion, Province, Silk Road, Taxman, Witch, Herbalist

Pretty interesting game.  He goes money, witches into provinces and eventually silk roads.  I go apothecaries, foragers into goons and then some green.  No villages, so it's only possible to play 1 goons, but foragers can give extra buy.  He builds a big lead, but I am able to eventually start building up points with goons, curse trashing and some green.

6.  http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399053726750.txt
 Bazaar, City, Doctor,  Fortune Teller, Merchant Guild, Native Village, Pillage, Province, Rabble, Remake,  Courtyard

Remake silver opening vs remake doctor opening.  His remake silver opening is probably the best choice.  It's less risky.  My doctor misses the shuffle and I am not able to trash as effectively as I had planned.  His deck is better in every way.  More merchant guilds, more villages and more money too.  He wins this one easily.

7. http://gokologs.drunkensailor.org/static/logprettifier.html?20140502/log.50a44d70e4b09c3f1c235128.1399055345503.txt
Cache, Catacombs, Feodum, Lookout, Mint, Nomad Camp, Oasis, Potion, Province,  Treasure Map, University, Pawn

We both have the same plan here.  Build a university catacombs engine, trash with lookout and mint and then eventually add treasure maps and pawns/nomad camps for plus buy.  The problem with this strategy is that it's hard to get enough actions to play treasure maps, and then draw the golds.  We both get 2 treasure maps in our deck relatively early but never play them because of lack of actions and because the gold would clog up our decks.  I mess up my mint turn when I trashed my potion along with the other treasure.  I realize I need more universities after doing this so rebuy a potion the next turn.  My mint buy was, however, a little later.  So, my trashing was better.  My draws ended up being more consistent, so I was able to end it on piles.

Thank you for your analysis Jog. I agree with what you said.
Interesting games except the witch/cellar opening...
I think it was close but you played better than me.  Not proud of my forager/fishing village opening, what a mistake! For a horn of plenty lover, i'm crushed of what i did in this game!

Good luck for "final four"!

Thank you for this tournament Kirian. i enjoyed playing it!
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michaeljb

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #44 on: May 02, 2014, 08:18:56 pm »
+5

michaeljb vs DG

Game 1



Code: [Select]
Vineyard, Chapel, Courtyard, Duchess, Pawn, Develop, Masquerade, Library, Market, Merchant Ship
Looks like there's enough +Buy and cheap actions for Vineyard to be good, but I was torn between Chapel and Masquerade. I didn't want to be caught giving away good cards to Masquerade after Chapelling down, so I opened Silver/Masquerade and DG opened Silver/Chapel. I got my Vineyards up to 6 points apiece, but DG's Chapelled deck was able to buy 6 of the Vineyards as well a Province and Duchy.

michaeljb 16 - 33 DG


Game 2



Code: [Select]
Moat, Scrying Pool, Fishing Village, Oasis, Monument, Talisman, Bazaar, Festival, Library, Adventurer
A big Scrying Pool board. DG's early reshuffles were a bit better than mine, getting him the first Festival, allowing him to pick up a Moat with his second SP on turn 6. I didn't buy any Moats until near the end, but the extra bit of draw and the protection from SP's spying definitely were valuable. DG also bought a Talisman for more end game control, but that didn't seem to have too much of an impact on the game either way. If I had been closer it probably would have had a larger influence. Ultimately DG got the action cards needed for SP earlier than I did, and it snowballed from there.

DG 54 - 33 michaeljb


Game 3



Code: [Select]
Beggar, Courtyard, Great Hall, Swindler, Philosopher's Stone, JackOfAllTrades, Counting House, Highway, Pillage, Vault
Facing elimination from the p2 seat and the kind of BM board where I'm really unsure of what to do, I settled on opening Swindler/Jack, hoping to get lucky with my Swindler and turn a Jack into Potion or something like that. That was somewhat contingent on DG opening 4/3; instead, he opened 5/2 and went full Beggar/Counting House, buying his first Province on turn 4. Now I was really worried and really hoping for some early Swindler luck, but in the early game I only hit one Estate and some Silvers that Beggar had put there. I supplemented the Swindlers with some Pillage buys, and even though I hadn't planned on this effect, he only managed to play Beggar once (they were busy reacting), on turn 3, so he didn't have piles of Copper for his Counting House.

While my attacks did slow his Counting House power, Silvers from the Beggars added up. I had a Vault, one Gold, and some Spoils from Pillage, and things were looking grim. On my last shuffle I got the draws I needed and just managed to get the last Province, just as DG would have nabbed it with another turn.

DG 37 - 43 michaeljb


Game 4



Code: [Select]
Black Market, Great Hall, Smugglers, Bishop, Herald, Harvest, Jester, Mint, Stash, Farmland

Black market deck cards: Forge, Hermit, City, Nomad Camp, Wharf, Venture, Haven,
Tournament, Apprentice, Shanty Town, Fairgrounds, Wandering Minstrel, Embargo,
Scrying Pool, Swindler, Throne Room, Spy, Courtyard, Vagrant, Beggar, Laboratory,
Horn of Plenty, Taxman, Harem, Margrave

I was first player again, so it was time to make this come back happen. I started 5/2; Jester/- isn't the greatest opening, but it could have been worse. I dealt out a Curse and bought a Bishop on turn 3, DG responded by starting on the Heralds. I was a little nervous about Tournament out of the Black Market, especially when DG pulled it on turn 4.
 Fortunately for me, I drew 5 Copper again on turn 5, and I could easily afford Mint then.

My Jester effectively balanced the positive effect my Bishop had on DG's deck, and even gained me a couple of Heralds and a Gold. I got to a point where my deck was relatively thin and I was happily Minting Golds. DG couldn't get his deck down to size, and his single Tournament from the Black Market never found its Prize; turn 12 in particular was a bummer for him, as his Heralds first revealed a Province his Tournament couldn't match, and then a Gold his Mint couldn't match.

As I began to pull away, DG pulled the plug.

michaeljb 36 - 14 (resigned) DG


Game 5



Code: [Select]
Embargo, Loan, Familiar, Silk Road, Talisman, Throne Room, Count, Embassy, Junk Dealer, Nobles
I opened Silver/Embargo, which was definitely a mistake. I had a vague idea of wanting to Embargo Familiars, but between Junk Dealer and Count, Familiar doesn't seem that great anyway, and I would have been much better off with a Silver than Embargo (I ended up Embargoing the Embargoes). DG got the Nobles split, 5-3 and got his engine up and running sooner. Apart from my opening failure, we did more or less the same, with Nobles, Count, Junk Dealer and Throne Rooms. I Cursed myself much more than DG did (that is, I ended the game with 7 Silvers to his 3; one of those was a gift from his Embassy), and couldn't keep my draw going very well. This game drew out a bit longer than the others, but as you can see from the points graph it was DG's all the way.

michaeljb 40 - 58 DG


Game 6



Code: [Select]
Crossroads, Embargo, Steward, Bridge, Thief, Treasure Map, Golem, Cultist, Junk Dealer, Saboteur
Once again facing elimination from p2, and I couldn't ask for a better time or board to get the 5/2 against 4/3. Or for worse draws for my opponent; DG's turn 3 hand was both of his opening Stewards with 3 Coppers, turn 4 was 2 Coppers, 3 Estates. DG Embargoed Golds, Provinces, and Duchies, but there was no stopping the Cultist train. The only chances DG had to reach $5 would have required that he choose coins over trashing with his Stewards.

To get around the Gold Embargo, I bought a Bridge and eventually a pair of Treasure Maps. Shortly after I went green, DG resigned. After that first reshuffle, the game was mine to lose, but I managed to not misclick my way to disaster.

DG (resigned) 2 - 18 michaeljb


Game 7



Code: [Select]
Squire, Loan, Trade Route, Advisor, Farming Village, JackOfAllTrades, Taxman, Mine, Wharf, King's Court
Our tiebreaker game featured a board that, as DG said, was not going to lead to a tie; it was all down to this game. Fortunately for me, I was the higher seed and happily took the first turn advantage. After we both open Jack/Silver, I got the better reshuffle for Squire/Wharf against two Farming Villages. DG got stuck on $4 another turn, and didn't get his first Wharf until I had my first King's Court. We went back and forth buying up engine pieces, but I was the first to connect KC+Wharf. I used my Squire to collect more Silvers to keep my economy high; after the opening hands, DG never drew less than $4, so buying a Squire would have meant passing on a Farming Village. (on turn 9 he got Farming Village+Wharf, he could have had KC+Squire then, but I think he probably made the right move).

After drawing KC+Wharf, the game snowballed my direction, but Squire was an important part of that, and DG never did get one. The Silver gain gave me way more economy than DG, and after playing 13 Silvers on turn 13, I was able to easily count that DG only had 5 Silvers, letting me push the KC pile closer to the edge without going too far. In the end, DG resigned-by-PPR, allowing me to pile out the Provinces and take a handful of victory Duchies.

michaeljb 45 - 22 DG

This was quite an intense series, and I definitely got a decent helping of shuffle luck in each of my victories, and DG's wins were well deserved. I also appreciate DG's help in defeating Stef ;)

I'm glad that I was able to win it in 7, unlike my Avs losing in overtime in 7 :(
« Last Edit: May 03, 2014, 12:27:58 am by michaeljb »
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DG

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #45 on: May 03, 2014, 07:52:10 am »
+1

I haven't got much more to say about a few of those games against michaeljb. Game #3 was interesting as I'd never played beggar/counting house before and I'll take any opinions how that should have been played and what is most likely to win. For the game as played, I could have chosen to play a beggar from hand once instead of revealing it to a swindler, and I'd bought my own swindlers on false logic involving a lead. In game #7 I looked at my turn 3 hand and sternly told myself that I needed a 5 coin hand for a wharf but then played in a way that risked 4 coin hands. It could have drawn better but my Dominion batteries were clearly getting low by that stage.

Congratulations to Michael. Well played. Good luck in the semi final.
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AdamH

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #46 on: May 03, 2014, 10:48:58 pm »
+5

AdamH defeats Smartie 4-3

Twitch stream
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Well, there's the quarterfinal match. It looks dramatic because it went to the tiebreaker match, but most of the games were very swingy and didn't seem all that skill-based. If I was knocked out in a match like this I'd be very disappointed but that's me.


Game 1: AdamH 26, Smartie 20
Game Log     Twitch Highlight     YouTube Video
Kingdom Cards: Squire, Chancellor, Develop, Ironworks, Scout, Baker, Counting House, Rebuild, Soothsayer, Stables

Rebuild/Chancellor mirror. I get a good shuffle, a bad shuffle and a good shuffle and when the smoke is cleared we split the Duchies 4-4 and he has two extra Estates in his deck. I opt for Turbo Rebuild to finish out the game and I'm able to get 4 Provinces and mill an extra one for the win. First player advantage played a key role here in the endgame, but it turns out not in the Duchy split.


Game 2: Smartie 15, AdamH 9
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Kingdom Cards: Hamlet, Chancellor, Fortune Teller, Militia, Moneylender, Tournament, Ill-Gotten Gains, Merchant Guild, Venture, Forge

IGG mirror. He opens with a Moneylender which seems a little weird. Militia hurts a lot and he gets those too. We split Curses 5-5 but the Curses hurt me a little more as second player. He wins the Duchy split 5-3 and that's game over.


Game 3: Smartie 28, AdamH 18
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Kingdom Cards: Pawn, University, Loan, Oasis, Bridge, Rats, Remodel, Knights, Rogue, Goons, with Colony/Platinum

Ugly game. There's no draw and nothing else to do, and I don't know what the best thing is. I don't play this game very well and there's discussion later in this thread about it so I'll just defer to that, but he does get a T3 Goons and I don't get mine until much later (mostly because I go for Knights kind of quickly to try and catch up). Anyway I get crushed here.


Game 4: AdamH 36, Smartie 21
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Kingdom Cards: Chancellor, Storeroom (bane), Cutpurse, Nomad Camp, Remodel, Thief, Young Witch, Festival, Horn of Plenty, Mint, Treasury

Young Witch with a terrible bane. The only other thing worth putting in your deck is Treasury on exactly $5, so my first player advantage lets me shuffle Curses into his deck faster. He gets a T3 Mint but I still win the Big Money mirror.


Game 5: AdamH 25, Smartie 18
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Kingdom Cards: Transmute, Duchess, Bridge, Feodum, Contraband, Ill-Gotten Gains, Minion, Rabble, Hoard, Possession

An exciting IGG mirror. He opens with Bridge and I wait for terminals until I can get Duchesses. I went first and I won. Yup.


Game 6: Smartie 36, AdamH 28
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Kingdom Cards: Herbalist, Great Hall, Philosopher's Stone, Plaza, Sea Hag, Spy, Treasure Map, Worker's Village, Stables, Stash

Sea Hag with Herbalist/Phil Stone. I'm not able to get a Potion or a Phil Stone for a long time, but the game really comes down to the last shuffle. I have 3 Phil Stones to his two, but I don't see any of mine until the bottom of my shuffle, and he's able to put together a double Province turn to put the game out of reach.

The chat seemed to think that I was terribly misplaying this by getting too many Herbalists. When I play Herbalist/Phil Stone I've found that getting as many Herbalists as possible as quickly as possible is usually best, and my second-to-last shuffle shows why that's a good thing. Am I wrong here?


Game 7: Smartie 26, AdamH 38
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Kingdom Cards: Shanty Town, Trade Route, Ironmonger, Talisman, Harvest, Knights, Pillage, Stash, Tribute, Altar

No draw (again). Knights are the main thing going on, but I get an Altar on my second shuffle and he doesn't, and Knights luck doesn't go well enough for him to catch up.


I feel like I won a coin flip with this match, every game was a mirror match and the start player won 6 out of 7 games -- any differences in our play were minor. In any case, thanks for the match, Smartie! I'm sorry we couldn't build any massive engines
« Last Edit: May 05, 2014, 10:43:10 am by AdamH »
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Kirian

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #47 on: May 04, 2014, 09:59:47 am »
+3

AdamH, deciding to be the RisingJaguar of GD3.
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lespeutere

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Re: GokoDom III: Playoff Round Results and Discussion
« Reply #48 on: May 04, 2014, 12:04:56 pm »
+5

Question is, how big a ratio of active members remember RisingJaguar. :-)
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"He looks like he doesn't know what he's doing, and then he wins."
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